Wild Goose Chase: A series of stories
by Taylor Hatake
Summary: A series of short stories from Taylor's life. Yeah... Don't question the title please ; ( It was the only thing I could think of.
1. Tell a story, Sakumotsu

**Wild Goose Chase: A Series of Stories**

After Caliko did some short stories with her characters, I felt compelled to do some more short stories for Taylor. lol. I am on slight writer's block again, so I'm writing! YAY for writing!

**Disclaimers**: Taylor belongs to me, Naruto doesn't *cry*

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1. Tell a story, Sakumotsu

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Kakashi carried his tired, little girl up to her room, his father following behind him. With her thumb stuck in her mouth, Taylor laid her head down gently onto her father's shoulder and looked at her grandpa, who had blood dripping from his forehead.

"Why Grandpa hurt?" she asked tiredly.

"Grandpa was fighting to protect you," her father said, smiling softly as they approached her room. Silently, they walked into the little girl's room.

Gently, Kakashi laid the little bundle of energy in her "big girl" bed. Sakumo winced as he sat down beside the 2 1/2 year-old girl with the high fever. With a soft sigh, he wiped the blood off his forehead.

"Daddy, Grandpa, tell me story!" the little girl cried.

Kakashi chuckled a bit and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm leaving the story-telling to you tonight, Dad. I'm exhausted," the tired father murmured, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

Sakumo nodded.

"Good idea, son." he said. "Good night, Kakashi."

"Good night Father," he said, then bending down to kiss his daughter's hot forehead. "Good night, sweetie."

Gently, he placed his lips on his daughter's forehead, and then smiled softly.

"I hope you feel better in the morning sweetie," he said.

Standing straight again, he walked out of the room, smiling a bit. Sakumo looked at his granddaughter and sighed as he gathered up a story to tell.

"Alright...," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Lets see what I can come up with..."

Taylor crawled up onto his lap and sat down. He chuckled a bit.

"Uhm lets see..."

"Aa, there once was a young shinobi by the name of Sakumo," he said, making a story out of his own life. "He'd been sent on a dangerous mission. He had to make a decision and it was the toughest decision of his career. His friend's lives were at stake, and he had to choose between their lives and the mission. It was hard, but he chose the better of the choices; to save his comrades. But, in the end they turned on him. And so did the villagers. Fortunately, his only son, Kakashi, didn't turn on him. He still loved him. But, later on Sakumo got depressed, sad, unhappy. His skills dropped and soon was far too along in depression to be saved. Nothing could've saved him."

Taylor listened, slowly falling asleep with a gentle grip on Sakumo's vest. She was still listening, and she did not realize her grandfather was the depressed man in the story. Sakumo let out the longest of sighs and continued.

"Eventually, he killed himself with his own tontō. It was painful. Blood splattered onto the floor, and the coward slowly died."

A soft smile played across his face.

"But years later, three days before his granddaughter was born, he came back to life. He found himself awake in his own bed. It was a huge surprise, but in the end he was thankful to be alive again because he got to meet his beautiful granddaughter, and make amends with his son. No one to this day can explain how he was revived, but some are thankful like his son. To this day, he prays to the Buddha, saying thank you every night. Today, he's the happiest man alive and he loves his son and his granddaughter and will do anything to protect them."

Taylor fell asleep, her left hand gripping her grandfather's vest and her right thumb in her mouth. Sakumo glanced out at the farmland behind the house in the night. He looked back at Taylor and smiled. Silently, he kissed the sleeping child's head.

"Good night sweetie, and I hope you some day will understand this story." he whispered, picking up the child. Carefully, he tucked her into her bed and walked out, turning his head.

"I'm so glad to be alive...," he whispered joyfully, then turned out the lights and went to his room to prepare for bed.


	2. A Hatake Child Can Be A Handful

**Wild Goose Chase: A Series of Stories**

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2. A Hatake Child Can Be A Handful

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He walked in silence in the humid, summer air. His warm-grey eyes scanning the area around him for his granddaughter. His eyes peered up at her teacher.

"Arata?" he asked in a tired voice. "Where's Taylor?"

Arata's green eyes showed his discontent.

"In the office, explaining to the head what caused her to push a girl into a puddle and why she cried afterwards," he said.

The elder's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"Taylor? Nah... Taylor? My Taylor?" Sakumo wouldn't believe it for a second that Taylor would push another kid down into a puddle.

Arata nodded.

"Really?"

"Yes," Arata said. "I think he's done talking to her so its best if you go get her now."

The grandfather nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll go get her." He bowed and walked inside and looked around for the office. When he found it, he peered in through the glass and saw the little girl sitting alone on the seat nearest to the desk with the sign-out sheet. Sakumo ran his long fingers through his thick, messy silver hair and pushed the door in.

Taylor stared down at the doll she wanted and had protected. It was of her father, and she didn't want anyone else to touch the doll of her daddy. Tears kept streaming down her rounded, pale face from her gentle, blue eyes. She hugged the doll and sobbed softly, still not feeling assured, even after talking with Hiruzen about what happened at lunch that day.

"Taylor?" came a familiar, gentle and quiet voice.

She looked up, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Grandpa!" she cried, beginning to cry harder again.

Sakumo felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his face. He held out his hand. All he wanted to do was start their errands. They could talk on the way to the store.

"Come on, lets go run some errands," he said.

Taylor sniffled and took his large hand with her own small hand and stood up. Sakumo held her hand and the two walked out in, for the most part, silence. It wasn't too silent, as Taylor was still sobbing softly. The child was hypersensitive.

"Mind telling Grandpa what happened?" he asked as they walked out into the blazing-hot sun.

Taylor wiped her eyes with her arm.

"Aiko was..." she sniffled. "Was being mean to me."

The elder glanced down at her as they walked.

"How was she being mean to you?" he asked, as if he didn't know the answer already.

Taylor sniffled again.

"She took Daddy plushie from me," she whimpered in her small, childish voice. "Said he was stupid and mean because he told her mommy what she was doing to me and he got her grounded.

Sakumo frowned. Even though he knew four-year-olds would take being told on by another parent as them being mean, that didn't stop Sakumo from believing that wasn't being mean. What his son did was right, the kid needed to be punished for their actions. Bullying was not tolerated.

"Then, she took my lunch and threw it away. Then, she took Daddy plushie and dropped him in a puddle. After I took him out, I pushed her in to show her how it felt being dropped into a puddle. After that, I held Daddy plushie close and cried. Aiko cried too, but no one calls Daddy mean and stupid... She had no reason to cry..."

Sakumo stopped and looked down at the girl. The hot summer sun had been trying to evaporate the tears the little girl had shed, and her face was pink from crying those tears. Her eyes showed how much she cared about her family. Sakumo put his hand on her head and rubbed it soothingly. Her unruly, silver hair felt like silk underneath his hand. Taylor looked up as the elder offered a soft, warm smile despite his disapproval of her pushing the other child.

"I am on your side," he said gently. "That was quite mean of her to call Kakashi mean and stupid, to take your lunch and throw it away and to drop your 'Daddy plushie' in a puddle."

Taylor gulped a bit and nodded slightly, worried that there was actually a "but" at the end of that. There wasn't. He kept smiling.

"Tell you what, lets go get some rice balls from the take-out store and a green tea-flavored ice cream cone and then do our errands?" Sakumo offered graciously. "Sound like a plan?"

The silver-haired girl's face lit up as she returned the elder's smile. Taylor nodded quickly. Yes, that sounded like a great plan! Sakumo grinned a bit.

"That's great," he said. "Now, lets go!"

Taylor nodded and followed her grandfather to the onigiri shop.

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	3. I'm Just Out For Air

This story is inspired by one of Caliko's first drawings of Taylor Hatake, my OC. She'll know it when she reads this. Haha, sorry I felt inspired to write a story about that picture haha. Probably will do another one too. Need to write, this is what I did. Gosh I am weird and now I need to stop talking to myself and let you guys read this. = )

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****3. I'm just out for air

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She stepped outside into the cool, autumn morning air. Dew stuck to the grass, which crunched softly under her small sandals as she stepped off the steps. In the distance were trees, slowly turning orange and yellow. A sign of autumn. A soft, gentle breeze swept her hair aside and sang a soft lullaby for a quick second. Early morning sunlight shone down on her face as she silently stepped out into the wheat field. The air smelled greatly of wheat and the scent made Taylor practically drool.

She stopped and inhaled the smell deeply, then she exhaled with a content smile. Silently, she continued her walk.

As she walked, her small pentacle encircled with a celtic-designed moon tapped softly against her chest as she walked. An orange leaf floated down to eye-level in front of Taylor. She grabbed it, just to hold it, and held it gingerly in the palm of my hand. After a moment, she released the orange maple leaf and stepped into the wheat. Her blue eyes gazed out into the distance, at the soft, sky blue sky.

As she went out into the field, Taylor heard her name.

"_Teirā_?" called out the deep voice of her grandfather.

Without a sound, Taylor turned her head to look at her grandfather, folding her arms behind her.

"What are you doing outside so early?" he asked.

"I'm just getting some fresh, autumn air Grandpa," she replied.

Sakumo stared at Taylor for a moment, then gave a soft smile.

"I see," he said. "Don't go too far, I'm about to start on breakfast which shouldn't take longer than twenty-five minutes."

Taylor nodded.

"Yes Grandpa."

She offered a gentle smile to her grandfather, who then went to say, "That is a picture-perfect pose right there, Taylor. Let me get my camera..."

Taylor looked down, blushing.

"Damn it," she said.

Sakumo was already gone once she looked up. When he came back, she held her lips in a gentle smile for the camera, even though she didn't want her picture taken. The girl would do anything for her grandfather, and unfortunately for her, that is something she'd willingly do for him.

Sakumo snapped the picture quickly so he wouldn't make Taylor feel uncomfortable.

"There we go," he said. "If you want, you can get out of that pose now sweetheart."

Taylor shook her head.

"Nah, I kinda like it."

Her grandfather smiled a bit and went back inside.

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	4. How You Remind Me

**A/N**: My OC Takahashi was never intended to be my Naruto OC but as much as I love him, I've decided to turn him into Taylor's lover. This takes place when she is fifteen. And if I ever make an actual story with Taylor, there won't be much of Taylor and Takahashi's love scenes, but after her mission to the Snow, he decided to join in and yeah... So while I am thinking about it, I'm writing it down. Whew! Lots of words I don't usually use are in here. So much looking up words on . *faints* Had to try to add variety to the story. Well, enjoy~

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4. How You Remind Me

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Taylor was walking through the path to her house, humming softly. In the shadows, Takahashi lingered, watching the girl as she walked and hummed. Her voice was reverberated with soft, sweet, sober, overtones and it just appealed to Takahashi's ears. He smiled softly and began walking out and towards her. Around the youngest Hatake's neck was a red scarf, and over her indigo shinobi wear was her heavy, black trench coat and her hair was untied for the first time in Takahashi's eyes. _She's gorgeous_, he thought. Taylor had no idea he was walking towards her, and by the time she knew he was walking towards her, she'd already bumped into him. She paused mid-hum and looked up at the tall man.

"O-Oh my goodness," she said. "I-I'm sorry, Takahashi. I-I didn't—"

He embraced the shy girl and Taylor blushed heavily, her blue eyes being locked in with his aqua-colored eyes.

"Its okay," he whispered.

The wind blew their long hair back and they stood in silence, for Taylor was too scared to say anything to the man from the other side of the country. They'd met on her recent mission with her grandfather and her father and one other Jounin by the name of Isamu Kagome. They'd had to take cover at his house because there was no other place to go to wait out the storm. The winds were too strong and it was hailing. Even the shinobi couldn't handle the golfball-sized hail. The shy girl tried to push herself away.

"I-I'm sorry, I really must get home before my father gets pissed about me not being home on time. They're very serious about this, especially after the incident when I was twelve."

"What incident?" Takahashi was very curious as to what had happened. "And here, I'll walk with you the rest of the way."

"I didn't make it home one day because I got lost in the past. It was about a whole month before my father and grandfather got me home again. And, th-that's not necessary. My house is only another kilometer away, I'll be fine," Taylor said. "One more kilometer alone can't kill me."

Takahashi didn't want to persist the poor girl, so he let go of her and gave her a curt nod.

"Alright then...," he said.

"Bye!" Taylor bowed to the man nervously and made a run for her house.

He watched, wondering why she was so nervous and why she was eager to get away from him. He shrugged and went to the village to start his shift. Maybe that's how she is.

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It'd been three weeks since Takahashi came across Taylor, and he'd found her today inside the village picking up some cinnamon and hot cocoa mix, and maybe some sweets for her PMS. Perhaps the only reason it'd been so long is because she's so great at avoiding people.

It was sudden when he saw her messy, silver hair and those unforgettable blue eyes walking toward the stand he worked at. The eyes caught him off guard, and knew instantly who it was. The shy girl caressed the bag of cinnamon and the hot cocoa mix in her arms close to her chest and went to his stand for the sweets. Seeing her face brightened up his day.

"Dangos?" he asked her as she studied the selection. Taylor looked up at him and gave him a curt nod. "How many?"

"May I have three?"

"Of course," Takahashi pulled out three dangos that were carefully placed on a stick and put them in a small bag and handed it to her. "Anything else Miss Hatake?"

Taylor blushed a bit and pointed to the Koara no Māchi candies. "Those please?"

He smiled and handed her a box of the Koara no Māchi— "And that's it."

"Alright, your total comes to 100 yen."

Taylor nodded and handed him 100 yen.

"Thank y—" Taylor dashed off with her stuff, cradling it in her arms. Takahashi let out a heavy sigh. He should visit her later and talk to her to find out why she's so scared of him. Or at least make her _less_ scared.

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The youngest Hatake sat outside and enjoyed her warm cinnamon bread in the cold and Takahashi walked down the path to her house. He wanted to try and get her to warm up to him, but she was so coy it'd take awhile. He caught sight of her silver hair and he dashed over to her house, hopping over the fence. Taylor noticed this and swallowed the rest of her bread and tried to go inside to hide. But she was too slow, for Takahashi jumped in front of her and held the door shut. Then, he reached his hand behind the girl and pulled her hair close to his hand and bent over close to her ear.

He whispered in a soft voice, "Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?" Taylor's face turned as red as a tomato and Takahashi chuckled, his voice reverberated throughout the Hatake land. Taylor tried to run for the backdoor, but before she could Takahashi pulled her close to him.

"Your eyes are like sapphires," he whispered. "And your hair is as beautiful as moonlight."

Taylor blushed— "And that smile of yours is as sweet as candy. Taylor Hatake, you enamor me. No matter how much I try, I cannot take my eyes off you. To think there was still some warmth left in this cold heart of mine, to think I would be drowned in you..." _That's not creepy at all_, she thought bitterly.

"Stop with the poetry." The words just fumbled out of her mouth. "And tell me what you want."

"Tell me about yourself; what you're thinking, you're feeling," Takahashi hugged her close. "Will you come with me for dinner tonight? What's your favorite place to eat in the village?"

"I have to talk to my dad," she said. "He promised to take me to Maki's Steakhouse tonight."

There was a tense silence between them. "Alright then." After a few more moments of silence, Taylor said, "See ya later then."

"See ya," Takahashi was somewhat disappointed, but he understood that it was some father-daughter time she was longing for. He wouldn't keep her from her time with her father. Taylor opened the front door and glanced over her shoulder as Takahashi left. Without her noticing, she was smiling. And her smile was as wide as the wood on the floor and her face was as red as a tomato still.

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It was another week before Takahashi caught sight of the nervous girl. This time, he didn't approach her. She approached him. "H-Hello, Takahashi."

"Hello there, Taylor."

A tense silence followed. Taylor was trying to be brave but she couldn't force any words out of her mouth. The poor child.

"Where are you going?" The question stumbled out of Takahashi's mouth.

"Kiiro's Arts and Crafts."

"Artist?"

"Yes."

Taylor felt her heart speed up, how it would when she would get nervous. She clenched her shirt in her hands.

"Would you go to lunch with me in about half an hour?" Takahashi asked.

Without thinking, Taylor said, "Sure." Then continued. "Uhm, well... Y-Yeah. I-I guess."

Her cheeks were turning a rosy-pink color. Takahashi smiled.

"That's a yes," he assumed. "See you in thirty at the steak house."

"R-Right," Taylor looked behind her. Her father was walking right towards them. _Shit_, she thought. Kakashi didn't notice Taylor was there until he saw Takahashi. He stopped and looked down at his daughter, then at Takahashi. Something about the awkward tension made Kakashi smile. Someone had a crush!

"Aww has my daughter found someone to have a crush on?" he teased.

"N-No!" Taylor folded her arms. "I-Its not what you think, Daddy. I-I'm not in love. W-We're just going to lunch. Lunch doesn't mean anything."

Kakashi smiled softly behind his indigo mask. "Ah, its okay Taylor." The father chuckled at his daughter. "I'm only teasing. Go on, go have fun."

He put his hand on his daughter's head and looked at Takahashi with a scary look in his eyes. "Don't try anything with my daughter, kid. If there's something she doesn't want to do, don't make her do it. If you hit her, I will hit you back harder. Don't forget, I AM the copy ninja."

Takahashi felt a bead of sweat roll down his face. "Geez, do you really think I could hurt this delicate, charming, and sweet girl?"

"I'm just saying." Kakashi glared and pulled his hand away from Taylor's head. "Now go on you two, have fun," he said with a sweet smile.

"Meet ya at Maki's in thirty alright?" Takahashi repeated.

Taylor nodded. "Y-Yeah..."

Takahashi walked off and Taylor looked at her father nervously.

"Its okay." He chuckled at her nervous expression. "Don't be so nervous."

"I can't help it," she said, hugged him. "Love you Daddy! Bye!"

She dashed off and Kakashi sighed a bit, but feeling rather happy. Any guy who could charm his daughter would be lucky to have her. But, there was going to be no marrying until they're twenty-two. The father smiled a bit and walked off to the bookstore.

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Taylor got to Maki's first, holding her sketchbook and pencils close to her. She took a seat by the window and stared outside in silence. No one noticed her, except the waiter who asked her to order something.

"I'll take a glass of ice water," she said so she wouldn't annoy him with her just being there. The waiter nodded and walked off to get her a glass of water.

For some reason, she smiled, and there was nothing there to provoke her to smile.

"You should smile like that more often," came a teasing voice. Taylor glanced up behind her and saw Takahashi standing on the back of her seat. Man, he knows how to not get noticed. Or, he knows the teleportation jutsu. The eighteen-year old poked the fifteen-year-old in the nose. Her face went red.

"You're so cute," he said, jumping over to the seat opposite of her. The waiter came back with her water and then took their orders.

Taylor looked down timidly when the waiter left and tried to make sense of how she was. The youngest was so excited to have lunch with him, but as soon as he's there she shies away. She scratched the back of her head.

"Tell me, why are you so nervous?" Takahashi asked. "I've never met anyone as shy as you are."

She looked up.

"I've always been this way," she admitted in a quiet voice. "No real reason for my shyness except I've always been shy."

Takahashi nodded. _That would make sense_, he thought.

"But," she continued. "I'm more nervous than I was when I was four because everyone in my class in the academy picked on me and bullied me without a break. Everyone called me 'stupid', 'rude' because I was the definition of an introvert, 'ugly', 'old lady' because of my hair color and any other insult they could think of, and then would take my doll of my father and drop him in a puddle. Some would take my lunch to see how I'd react. All of that bombed my self-esteem for a few years. I'm not so nervous that I lock myself in my room and fail badly at being a shinobi, but I'm pretty bad around strangers because I think that's what would happen."

Takahashi couldn't believe anyone could call her stupid or ugly. She was brilliant, exquisite and stunning in his eyes. He was 100% sure her father told her those same things, or close to it.

"Ah, but you needn't worry about my opinion of you," he said with a wink. "You are none of those things. They couldn't see how stunning you look or how brilliant you are. And you're so sweet and affectionate. If you could just get out of that shell, you wouldn't have to worry so much about those things."

He reminded her so much of her father that she suddenly didn't feel the need to hide in her shell.

"Thanks," she said. The waiter came with their orders. Taylor had a plate of steak and salmon both marinated in teriyaki while Takahashi had a simple bowl of imoni soup. Taylor smiled eagerly and picked up her chopsticks. "_Itadakimasu_," she said.

Takahashi picked up his spoon and smiled lightly at the girl. He couldn't help but think how adorable she was.

"So," Takahashi continued after a moment. "I've heard you sing before, and might I say you have the most angelic voice I've ever heard."

Taylor looked up, holding her chopsticks to her mouth, blushing.

"Uhm, erm... Th-Thanks."

"Can I hear you sing something so I can hear that angelic voice again?"

She swallowed her piece of steak. "U-Uhm... A-Alright." She took in a deep breath and sang;

"In a dream I could see  
you are not far away.  
Anytime, Anyplace.  
I can see your face.  
You're that special one  
that I have been waiting for  
and I hope you're looking for  
someone like me."

Takahashi smiled softly and closed his eyes. "Nice, nice," he said, opening his eyes to see her charming smile. "Your voice just takes my breath away."

"S-Stop," she said. "Y-You're embarrassing me." Even though she said that, she was actually smiling and giggling. _Victory_! Takahashi exclaimed in his mind. _She's finally opening up to me! _Taylor's smile was warm, as warm as the sun and he couldn't take his aqua-colored eyes off her, even though he already couldn't.

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